I loved my conversation with Ilana Golan on The Leap Academy Podcast!
I joined Ilana and broke down how to spot world-changing ideas before they make sense, why most people miss their biggest opportunities, and how listening to your gut can be more powerful than logic alone.
I shared the lessons behind massive wins like Hotmail, painful misses like Netflix, and the mindset required to navigate uncertainty, fear, and reinvention.
Listen here:
Mike Santullo and Larry Drebes are two of my favorite entrepreneurs ever.
Every time I came to a board meeting, Mike and Larry would have a new software product or feature to demo. The energy in their company was palpable.
They cold-called me on a Monday, we met that week, and had a term sheet the following Thursday.
I felt like I needed to move as fast as they did.
Four11 started as a lookup service for business websites. Then they met the Hotmail founders at a DFJ Schmoozefest and learned about web-based email and viral marketing.
So they decided to do it themselves. They launched RocketMail. Sold it to Yahoo. The product is now called Yahoo Mail.
It has 200+ million users today.
The lesson is obvious.
Speed matters. Energy matters.